


Friendship

by echo_of_words



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, Gen, how do i title this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echo_of_words/pseuds/echo_of_words
Summary: Kenma plays Pokémon and thinks about his friends.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma, Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly not sure what this is. I was going through my Google Docs, trying to choose something to work on because I haven't written in _forever_ and I finally have time today, and I found this little Kenma oneshot I wrote two months ago and never posted, so I thought I'd do that now. It's not my usual content, but I haven't posted in a while, and I thought I'd post this now - maybe someone will enjoy it.
> 
>  **Warnings:** None!

Kenma sighs and lets himself fall backwards onto his bed, holding the DS above him for only a couple of seconds before turning to lie on his side instead, resting the console on his bed to save himself the energy of having to hold it up. He chews on his lip, trying to decide what to do next; he’s been trying to beat this gym battle for a while now, but his third attempt still hasn’t brought forth any results, and he’s starting to think he should try a different strategy.

He doesn’t particularly  _ want _ to try a different strategy; he’s grown rather attached to the six Pokémon currently in his party (which are  _ definitely _ not named after some of his volleyball teammates, he would never do that. obviously), and he’s really not in the mood to try levelling up his other Pokémon so they stand a chance against the gym leader. On the other hand, though, this clearly isn’t working, and he  _ does _ want to get this final gym badge and go challenge the Pokémon League.

This isn’t his first time playing the game, of course; it’s probably his fourth or fifth playthrough, which probably means he should be better at the game by now, but in his defense it  _ has _ been quite a while since he’s even  _ used _ his DS, so of course he’s forgotten a bit about the specifics of this particular Pokémon game.

His phone buzzes with a text notification. He puts the DS down (which is currently still open on the screen displaying all of his currently available Pokémon) and picks up his phone to check. It’s a message from Shouyou, telling him Karasuno’s coach just announced they’re having a practice match against Nekoma at the weekend, and complaining about the fact that Kenma obviously must have known about this before him, so  _ why didn’t you tell me? _

In spite of himself, Kenma has to smile at the screen. Even over text, Shouyou manages to be more energetic and lively than Kenma could ever be.

He starts typing out a message. In truth, he just completely forgot to tell Shouyou about the upcoming practice match. (He probably would have remembered if it hadn’t been for Kuroo dragging him off to get ice cream with the rest of the team after practice on the day Coach Nekomata told them, but by the time he got home, he’d already completely forgotten about his plans to text Shouyou, and didn’t even  _ think _ about the match until he saw Shouyou’s text a few moments ago.)

_ Sorry, I forgot _ , he types.  _ Looking forward to seeing you, though. _ Really, he is; Shouyou is one of the few people whose company Kenma genuinely enjoys. He can get pretty loud, and most people would probably think Kenma would find him annoying, but actually, Kenma finds him to be a nice balance to his own silent and laid-back self. (It’s not that he actively _ tries _ to look bored and unmotivated at everything he does; really, it just seems simpler this way. Being overly excited and energetic about everything seems like too much effort. He operates on a general principle of not doing things that take too much effort, and focuses more on conserving energy and doing things that he himself finds entertaining. Like video games.)

The thought of things he finds entertaining makes him remember the time when he first started playing volleyball. That was back when he was even more antisocial than he is now; Kuroo was his only friend, and that was only because he lived next door. He doubts he and Kuroo would have ever become friends otherwise, but he’s really glad they did, because honestly, his life would be a lot lonelier without Kuroo in it. And it wouldn’t have volleyball in it either, so he supposes it’d just be… gaming and loneliness?

_ No, I’m definitely glad I met Kuroo _ , he decides, hitting  _ send _ on the text (which he forgot to do earlier) and setting his phone back on his bedside table before he can flopping back down onto his back and picking up his DS.  _ Right. Time to beat this gym. _

* * *

Kenma watches the van pulling into Nekoma Highschool's parking lot. He and the rest of the team have been standing out here waiting for it for the past several minutes, and he's glad they've arrived now, because Kuroo didn't let him bring his DS outside with him, and he's starting to get fidgety, messing around with a couple of loose strings in the pocket of his team jacket.

The van stops and the door opens. Karasuno's coach (Ukai, Kenma thinks his name is) and their managing teacher get out, immediately followed by the Karasuno team themselves. The first ones off the bus are the two energetic second-years who seem to be inseparable outside the court (Kenma's pretty sure one of them is named Tanaka and the other is their insanely talented libero whose name he's forgotten). They immediately run towards Yamamoto, shouting greetings. (Kenma doesn't know what the basis for their friendship is, but he's learned that it's best not to question Yamamoto too much.)

Next off the bus are their team captain and the rest of the third-years. They all smile and greet them with a bow, before the captain hurries after Tanaka and the libero to scold them, presumably for running off. Kenma briefly thinks how much this reminds him of a parent rounding up their children, but before he can dwell on it too long, Shouyou gets off the bus, and all other thoughts are driven from his mind.

"Kenma!" he yells excitedly and runs towards him, arms extended. Too late, Kenma realizes what Shouyou's trying to do, and only has time to say "Wait, no, stop—" before Shouyou barrels into him, wrapping him in a hug that knocks the breath out of him.

" _ Oof— _ Hi, Shouyou," Kenma manages to say through the mess of bright orange hair now obscuring most of his vision. "Good to see you too."

Shouyou releases him, beaming and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "It's been so long!"

"It's been a month," Kuroo says from beside Kenma, sounding amused. "It's not like you haven't seen each other in  _ forever _ ."

"It  _ feels _ like it, though!" Shouyou insists. "We should text more, Kenma! Oooh, and maybe we could meet up outside of volleyball sometime!"

Kenma's about to reply how he doesn't think that's really possible considering their distance, but he's interrupted by the blow of a whistle. He cranes his neck to look around Kuroo and sees it was blown by Coach Nekomata. The rest of the Karasuno team have gotten off the bus now (Kenma's gaze briefly falls on Tanaka, the libero and Yamamoto and he sees they're all staring at Karasuno's manager. Personally, Kenma's never really understood the obsession some people seem to have with girls—sure, he supposes they're  _ pretty _ , but is it really necessary to constantly stare at them?)

He also notices a short blonde girl standing next to their manager, wearing the same "Karasuno Highschool Volleyball Club" jacket as the rest of the team and looking absolutely terrified.  _ New manager? _ , he guesses, but he doesn't have time to ask Shouyou because at that moment, Coach Nekomata begins to speak.

"Now, now, everyone, is this the way to greet our rivals?" He chuckles. "Line up so we can give them a proper welcome."

They oblige, and the Karasuno team mirrors them ("Talk later!" Shouyou whispers to him before hurrying off to stand at the end of their line).

They all bow. "Looking forward to working with you!"

"Now, come on. Let's get inside the gym and start warming up," Coach Nekomata continues. "Let's make this a practice match to remember!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone yells (Kenma a little less enthusiastically, because he's never really understood the point of shouting at the top of his voice for no real reason) and the lines break up as they start talking towards the gym.

"Well, are you looking forward to this?" Kuroo asks, a teasing tone in his voice. "Chibi-chan over there seemed to be excited, anyway."

"Yeah, actually, I am," Kenma says, although he decidedly doesn't look at Kuroo, who's probably currently staring at him, a look of surprise on his face, because  _ since when does Kenma look forward to things? _ "It'll be fun. Probably. Seeing how they've improved since last time."

Now, Kenma does look at Kuroo, and sees that he's grinning. "Well, if they can even get  _ you _ excited for something, then you must be  _ really _ pumped for this. This match is gonna be good!"


End file.
